In recent years soft body armor has become almost universally standard equipment for police agencies and military personnel. Depending on the anticipated threat, the armor comes in different configurations and levels of protection.
Body armor configurations vary from the minimalist police designs, which are designed to be concealed under fairly standard clothing, with just enough protection to protect the vital organs; to military and bomb disposal armor which is much bulkier, designed to be worn over clothing, and usually provides much greater coverage of the body, often including full upper shoulder protection, neck protectors or collars, and detachable groin protectors.
The police-type "vests", in particular, lack protection for the uppermost chest, the neck and the lower face, very vulnerable areas of the body. One approach to solving this problem is to provide a mantle-type removable piece which the user slips on over his head to lie on top of the armor vest across the shoulders and upper chest, and to provide a standup collar around the neck. However, in many situations requiring the protection of the armor, the user does not have time to find and put on such detachable supplemental protection, if indeed he happens to be carrying one on his person (unlikely due to the weight) or have one stored nearby in a vehicle or building. And, wearing such full upper chest and neck-protecting armor in the periods between threat situations is heavy, hot, restricts movement, eliminates the ability to conceal the fact that armor is being worn, and covers a significant portion of the underlying uniform or clothing.